On America and Fear and Love

Today a Dark Side of America came out in full force for the world to see. It shouted, "The world is changing, and I no longer feel like I'm in control. I'm afraid." It ran heartily into the arms of someone who promised to reverse those changes, someone who stood for everything familiar, someone who promised to make the country great again.

Meanwhile, the Other Side could do nothing but stare on in shock and horror. Betrayal flashed across its face. "But wait," it shouted, hands outstretched grasping at the empty space its counterpart left behind, "What about me? What does that mean for me? I am your mother, your daughter, your sister. Your neighbor, your colleague, your friend. What about me?"

The Dark Side looked back. "You'll be fine. Things will be how they should. America will be restored to its former glory. He will make sure of it." It looked up into the smug face of its Protector, already more secure in his arms.

The Other Side began to protest, "But-“ It stopped.

What was the point. It had spent months telling its friend that America was never a great place for a large portion of the nation, that their new Protector would spell further disaster for those who were already suffering. It had spent months trying to convince them that progress and forward movement would be something that would help America to a kind of greatness it had never seen before.

But most of all, it spent months trying to convince itself that its friend, who had very little to lose, would be empathetic, that they would see that hate wouldn't solve fear.

It was wrong.

Maybe this isn't the place for me, it thought. Maybe I can find another home elsewhere. It looked to the north. It looked to the south. To the east and to the west.

And then, it looked back at the country it would be leaving behind. It looked back at its friend, so fearful of change. The Other Side shook its head.

Now was not the time to flee. Now, more than ever before the Other Side needed to be strong, it needed to show its friend that change was not something to be feared, that greatness can arise even from those who were not born great.

And so, the Other Side turned around and walked back toward the country that betrayed it. It vowed to achieve a different kind of greatness than the Protector was proposing. It vowed to build a society based on Love and Trust. On Empathy and Kindness. It vowed to show its friend, and the rest of the world, that Love Trumps Fear. Love Trumps Hate.